Man Who Overdosed With His Baby In The Car Tried To Escape From The Hospital

A man from Independence, Kentucky, was behind bars on Aug. 16 after police said he was using drugs while he had his baby in the car with him.

Police say they found Duncan Merriman, 28, unconscious in the driver’s seat of the car after overdosing on heroin. He reportedly still had a syringe in his lap.

The engine of the car was still on when police arrived and his 1-year-old child was also in the car with him, reports Cincinnati.com.

First responders showed up and revived Merriman using Narcan, after which he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

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Responders often carry Narcan. It is injected into a muscle when it is given intravenously to fight an overdose. It works within five minutes and has been shown to reduce the rate of deaths caused by opioid overdose.

Merriman asked to use the bathroom while at the hospital. He then allegedly tried to escape. He was later caught by police, police records say.

Merriman faces charges of escape, endangering children, possessing drug abuse instruments and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance.

A conviction from a first offense for driving while under the influence in Kentucky carries a fine between $200 and $500 or imprisonment between two and 48 days. Sentencing lengths and fines depend largely on the number of offenses in a five-year period, according to the Kentucky Legislature.

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If the court finds that Merriman was endangering the child with awareness of the risk, he could be convicted of child endangerment in the second degree and face one to five years behind bars and a $1,000 to $10,000 fine. If the court finds that he merely failed to perceive the risk, he could face a third-degree charge with a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and a $500 fine, according to Find Law.

In Kentucky, a person who escapes will be committed to the prison of the county from which he escaped. State statutes dictate that an escapee or person charged with the crime for escaping must be held without bail and only discharged by due course of the law.

Merriman was held without bond over the weekend at the Hamilton County Jail, reports WBTV.